The exploration of AutoCAD 2018’s XREF enhancements continues! You didn’t think we stopped helping you fix those broken XREF links did you? There’s so much more in the land of XREFs to make your life easier, so without further ado, let’s explore!
Child References
I guess I’ll start a round of “The sun’ll come out tomorrow” because Nested (child) references now display as Orphaned references (poor reference) if the parent reference is Unloaded or Not Found:
But don’t worry because now they display in the proper tree view location to help you figure out what went wrong! We know they’ll be happier once they’ve been reunited with their parents.
Tip: The Open option is now available when you right-click on an unloaded reference in the XREF palette so you can quickly open unloaded reference files! You don’t have to reload them first and THEN Open them. I love little helpers like this.
Timesaver: If you rename an unloaded XREF in the External References Palette, it doesn’t automatically reload – until you tell it to! That’s right, YOU’RE the boss.
Less Stressful Syntax
We all know the dreaded “Number of missing reference files” warning that makes it sound like our XREFs belong on a milk carton. AutoCAD has softened the statement for clarity, and now it says “Number of reference files that are Not Found” (so at least it sounds like there’s hope).
More Tuesday Tips
Come back next week for insight into the updated DWG file format, and don’t forget to check out the full Tuesday Tips With Lynn series in the meantime.
